Red Kettle History

In the midst of all your shopping, last-minute errands and trips to the grocery store as you prepare to celebrate Christmas, please remember those less fortunate in your communities.  Make the holiday special for someone in need by dropping a few coins into the Salvation Army Kettles outside your local grocery store or favorite big box retailer.  Dig between the sofa cushions, check beneath the seats in your car and ask your kids to spare a few pennies from their piggy banks…a little goes a long way!   

Here's a little history on those famous RedKettles.

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome -- funding the project.

<><> <><> Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called "Simpson's Pot" into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.

The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, "Keep the Pot Boiling." He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.

Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.

Captain McFee's kettle idea launched a tradition that has spread not only throughout the United States, but all across the world. Kettles are now used in such distant lands as Korea, Japan, Chile and many European countries. Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

Do you have a favorite charity you like to donate to during the holidays?

Marin Thomas

A Rodeo Man's Promise (Dec 2011)

Arizona Cowboy (Feb 2012)

www.marinthomas.com

All My Heroes are Cowboys

Growing Old Gracefully...or Not

How many of you like to watch Doctor Oz's TV show?  I've become an Oz junkie.  There's just something about his no-nonsense approach to good health that appeals to me.  He understands that being human is just that—human, not a machine.  And even when we "know better" we still make bad health choices on occasion.  But he forgives us and encourages us to keep trying.  No matter what the topic on his show, by the end of the sixty- minute segment I already feel better about myself and I feel like I have control over my health.  One episode that made a big difference for me was a show about hair color and how choosing the right color can make you look younger.   
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/hair-colors-take-decades-your-face

For years I used boxed hair colors and I usually chose a dark shade of brown…the color my hair had been in my youth.  Dr. Oz's show taught me to "lighten up".  Now I'm a lighter shade of brown and have highlights that add depth and dimension to the color and make my face appear less harsh. 

It's been a process of sorts, but over the past few years I've learned to embrace getting older….to be the best I can be for whatever age I am and the Dr. Oz  show has been a great motivator in encouraging me to take care of myself.

Is there someone…a show…a book…that's given you sound  advice on growing old gracefully? 

Marin

A Rodeo Man's Promise (Dec 2011)

Arizona Cowboy (Feb 2012)

All My Heroes are Cowboys